141
Although Tristana contains no passage similar to this letter, Tristana does refer to Macbeth humorously, as does Concha, on pp. 1583-84.
142
In 1891, the 22nd falls on Wednesday only in April and July. My choice of July is based on my impression that these letters were written within a short period of time.
143
The narrator of Tristana says that «de un cuento que ella [Tristana] oyó a Saturna salió aquello de ¿la jazemos?, manera festiva de expresar sus proyectos de fuga...» (p. 1575). In a later letter, probably from the Gerona group, as Concha tries to convince Galdós that he has no reason to be jealous of her relationship with «Pepito» -probably Antonio Vico's son- she says: «Pero Ojirris es tan formal... mardita sea la circunspención, te pareces al señor del cuento».
144
The reference is, of course, to Galdós' birth in «África»-Gran Canaria. See the letter that follows for Concha's own clarification of the term.
145
Obviously, Galdós is in Santander, a place familiar to Concha, as the Sitges letter indicated. In May, 1891, Pardo Bazán reports that Galdós has left Madrid for Santander (Nuevo Teatro Crítico, Año I, no. 5 [Mayo 1891], p. 94).
146
In two other letters from the same period, Concha calls Galdós «mi autorcito laureado» and «mi autorcillo laureado».
147
The siempre siempre and siempre más, which occur frequently in Concha's letters, are also a significant part of the private language of Tristana and Horacio.
148
Teodora Herbella Lamadrid (1821-1896), a famous actress who in 1891 held a cátedra de declamación at the Conservatorio de Madrid.
149
This reference explains why Concha and Galdós referred to their meeting place as a «palomar», and perhaps is the source of the «palomar» description of Horacio's studio in Tristana (p. 1556). In a previous letter, Concha expresses in a similar way her uncertainty about practical matters: «No busco otro palomar porque tenemos aquél aunque malo, y no soy capaz de buscar otro mejor. No entiendo una palabra de ciertas cosas. No sé hacer nada así que aunque aquél no sirve, otro que yo buscara tampoco serviría...»
150
Concha's description of how she came to live with her protector is remarkably similar to the circumstances that brought Tristana to Don Lope's home. The narrator of Tristana says: «En la hora de morir, Josefina... volvió sus ojos a Dios, y aún tuvo tiempo de volverlos también a don Lope, que presente estaba, y le encomendó a su hija huérfana, poniéndola bajo su amparo...» (p. 1546). Later, Tristana tells Horacio: «No estoy casado con mi marido..., digo, con mi papá... digo con ese hombre... Recogióme cuando me quedé huérfana. El fue, justo es decirlo, muy generoso con mis padres» (p. 1564).